Thoughts from our Pastor:
Dear
February 6th is Ash Wednesday,
which marks the start of the season of Lent.
This season is starting about
as early as it possibly can.
Lent is a season of preparation; a time
to get ready for the Easter celebration
that will happen in March. During these
forty days we learn about the sacrifice
that Christ made for us.
On Ash Wednesday we hear about
the three disciplines of Lent.
They are prayer, fasting, and works of
love.
What does it mean to keep each
of these disciplines during Lent?
To pray is to be in conversation with God.
Often we may find that our prayers tend
to be about needs or concerns we have in
our lives. We pray for our families,
for our friends, for our congregation, for health,
for comfort. We pray for our nation,
for peace in war-torn nations, for relief
from
drought and famine, for an end to prejudice.
And that is good. God does want to hear
about our needs and concerns.
Often we also pray about the celebrations in
our lives.
We pray about births, weddings, baptisms,
graduations.
We pray about having a job,
a roof over our heads, food on the table.
Yet do we pray as often and a powerfully
as we should? I think that we could
all pray more than we do. Lent is a good
season to sharpen our prayer skills.
Fasting is one discipline that many
Lutherans do not do. In the strictest
sense,
it can mean abstaining from food
for a certain period of time. Often that time
is also filled with spending more time
in God’s Word and prayer.
But fasting can be different than that.
It could be as simple as skipping lunch
every Friday. It could be cutting back
on the amount of food we eat.
It could be cutting out certain types
of food in our lives; like sugar.
Fasting can have both Spiritual and
physical benefits for our lives.
Perhaps Lent can be a time for making
some lifestyle changes.
The final discipline is works of love.
As Lutherans, we say that we are saved
by God’s grace apart from works.
However, that does not exempt us from doing
good works.
Our good works should be a celebration;
a celebration of new life given to us.
We did not deserve that grace that God
showed us through the death and
resurrection of Christ.
Still he gave us that gift anyway.
The best way we can share that gift
with others is not through our words,
but through our actions.
Actions speak louder than words.
A good question to ask during Lent is:
“Where can I best use my gifts to
share God’s love?”
Prayer, fasting, works of love;
these are the disciplines of Lent.
May God strengthen these gifts in your
lives as we journey together to the cross.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Andrew J. Bailey
**********************************
SCHEDULE OF
SPECIAL EVENTS
SATURDAY WORSHIP
at 5:30 pm.
SUNDAYS at 8:30
am. & 11:00 am.
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Continues Daily
FOR THE LOVE OF CHILDREN
1st & 3rd
Tuesdays at 9:00 am.
February 7 &
21 at 6:00 pm.
SOUPER BOWL OF CARING
February 2 & 3
BOY SCOUT SUNDAY
Sunday. February 3 at 11:00 am.
ASH WEDNESDAY
February 6th
Worship with Holy Communion
1:30 & 7:00
pm.
YOUTH GROUP LOCK-IN HERE
Friday, February 8th at 8:00 pm. through
Saturday, February 9th 8:00 am.
SOLUTIONS MEETING
Sunday, February
10 at 6:30 pm.
CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING
Monday, February
11 at 7:00 pm.
LENTEN SOUP SUPPERS
(Beginning February 13th)
Wednesdays in
February at 6:00pm.
MID-WEEK LENTEN SERVICE
Wednesdays in
February at 7:00 pm.
GLCW MEETING
Tuesday, February
26 at 7:00 pm.
SENIOR POTLUCK LUNCHEON
Thursday, February 28 - 11:30 am. to 1:00
**************************
Treasurer’s
Highlights
Month of December 2007
Home Envelopes - $18,672.00
Loose Offerings - 768.28
Special
Offerings - 4,510.00
Misc.
Non-Budget Items - 3,970.90
Monthly Total - $27,921.18
(Needed for budget - $17,622.00)
Year to Date
2007
Toward
Budget - $195,481.19
Needed
for Budget - $211,464.00
A complete copy of the January Council Minutes,
as
well as the December Treasurer's report
can be found on the table in the narthex,
or contact the church office
and a copy will be mailed to you.
**************************************
Elder of the Month
for February – George Thon
Please take a
moment to consider filling
a
vacancy on the worship assistants lists.
Don’t wait
to be called!
PLEASE REMEMBER OUR
FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY:
MEALS ON WHEELS OF NW
Elder of the Month for March – Lori Manus
********************************************
In Memoriam…
BETTY JANE AWE
9/10/1924
– 1-17-2008
Give thanks
to God for the promise
of resurrection to
new life.
Pray for comfort for those who
mourn.
**************************************
Join us as together we read
through the Bible in
One Year!
(The entire schedule is printed
at the end of this newsletter copy.
Simply scroll down to the end!)
|
Week |
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
|
2/3 |
1 Chronicles |
1 Chronicles |
1 Chronicles |
1 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
|
2/10 |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
2 Chronicles |
|
2/17 |
2 Chronicles |
Ezra |
Ezra |
Ezra |
Nehemiah |
Nehemiah |
Nehemiah |
|
2/24 |
Nehemiah |
Esther |
Esther |
Job |
Job |
Job |
Job |
|
3/2 |
Job |
Job |
Job |
Job |
Job |
Job |
Psalms |
|
3/9 |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
|
3/16 |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
|
3/23 |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
Psalms |
|
3/30 |
Proverbs |
Proverbs |
Proverbs |
Proverbs |
Proverbs |
Proverbs |
Proverbs |
Pastor Bailey has asked that if you plan to join
in
reading the Bible in one year,
simply e-mail him at
******************************************************
Pat’s Prattle
(Pat
is Pat Sholts)
Those who know me also know
that I love the snow.
Growing up in
I
have many happy and exciting memories - -
sledding down hills, skiing, ice
skating,
building snow forts, and taking walks
with that special
“someone”.
The
air was frigid, and the snow crunched
beneath our feet.
A
woolen scarf
covered our faces, fur-lined boots
kept our feet warm
and dry, and we held